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A multitude of factors on Oct. 16 combined to kill popular IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon, series officials announced Thursday during a news conference at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Officials said the 15-car crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway coupled with the ease of driving on the high-banked oval along with the blocked track and the positioning of the post supporting the catch fence all were factors in the fatality.

Officials called it “a perfect storm.”

IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard along with Brian Barnhart, the president of the sport's operations division, presented the details of Wheldon's crash, including:

-- Testing and measurements showed the track and pit road could handle up to 38 cars. Thirty-four participated.

-- Wheldon, who was in 24th place at the time of the lap-11 accident, started last due to a promotion, but he would have been in the back half of the field anyway, based on qualifying 28th.

-- Wheldon's car was clocked at 224 mph on the front straightaway, and as the chain reaction ahead of him increased, he let off the accelerator 45 percent. At one second before impact, he was down to 10 percent throttle, making contact at 165 mph.

-- The Sam Schmidt Motorsports car rolled to the right and got vertical, bouncing off the track with the right rear tire 12 or 13 times, a distance traveled of 325 feet. The most significant impact did not cause enough shock to produce nonsurvivable injuries.

-- The impact with the post sheered off the right side of the car, including the roll hoop.

-- Wheldon's injuries were limited to his head.

-- There was no evidence of mechanical failure anywhere in the 15-car accident.